Cannabis and Sleep
Sleep is an essential aspect of our overall health and well-being, playing a crucial role in physical and mental rejuvenation. However, many people struggle with sleep disorders and as such seek various remedies to achieve restful nights. One such example that has gained popularity in recent years is cannabis. This blog post delves into the relationship between cannabis and sleep, exploring the science of the somewhat complicated relationship between them.
Cannabis and Its Components
Cannabis contains numerous compounds, but the two most well-known are THC (tetrahydrocannabinol) and CBD (cannabidiol). THC is the psychoactive component that produces the "high" associated with cannabis use, while CBD is non-psychoactive and appears to hold the potential of producing some therapeutic effects.
How Cannabis Effects Sleep
Putting aside the potential risks associated with cannabis use, we will narrow in on the relationship between sleep and cannabis specifically. In a recent study of over 1500 medical marijuana users, approximately 65% of individuals reported they were able to reduce their use of other prescription sleep medications. Based on that research, we may rightfully start to assume the Cannabis helps people sleep, but we would only be half right.
What the research illustrates is that if you are not a frequent user of cannabis and you are given a single evening dose of THC there is a reliable decrease in sleep latency (the time it takes to go to sleep). Secondly, the effect of less time awake during the night was noted.
But here's the other half, although you may fall asleep quicker and wake less during the night, this effect doesn’t last very long (one study estimate only a week) and after that things start to change. What was observed past the one-week mark was that in the second half of the night regular users will start to notice something called “sleep maintenance insomnia” meaning they can’t stay asleep and if they do stay asleep the quality of the sleep is negatively impacted. This has important implications on mental health as most of the REM (Rapid Eye Movement) sleep cycle takes place in the second half of sleep and is essential to mental wellbeing, sometimes even referred to as the brains “overnight therapy”.
These are some of the important factors to consider and some of the ways regular cannabis use can impact sleep. In addition to the above noted factors, we considered in the regular use of cannabis, it is also important to note that there may be an increase in sleep latency (the time it takes to fall asleep) if you were to decide to stop regular cannabis use. Most substances have a notable ‘opposite’ effect in the withdrawal period. The intensity and duration of this is largely dependent on the individual, the amount of use, and the length of time the person has used regularly.
So, if you were to read this article and decide to stop using cannabis regularly before bed, expect some challenges getting to sleep in the beginning. Often these initial challenges can deter someone from continuing on the path to making changes, so it’s important to remember that these effects are very likely to be temporary. If long term sleep issues persist, speak to your doctor or healthcare professional to review other options, or consider our article regarding sleep hygiene to try other, natural strategies to improve sleep.
Rest well!